Riley's Day Off
by sarahofearth
Summary: Riley's so very bored. He starts to explore the new house, and comes across an adventure, sorta.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** I don't own this, if I did Riley would have been the main character. And the title would be "Riley's Treasure, and Other Funny Stuff…"

**A/N** This is kind of my first fic. I mean, it's my first National Treasure story. I've written a few before this, just not on this account. I hope you like it, reviews are very much welcomed.

Riley Poole was _bored_.

The 26 year-old, Riley Poole, had absolutely nothing to do. It was a Saturday afternoon and Riley had finished up his work reports _and_ his mountain-high pile of filing, leaving the young man bored to tears.

Well, there were some things he could do… such as clean up the pigsty of an office, to put it in Ben's words, that had been like that for months. But Riley would rather die then to even touch all those papers. Anyways, Riley was perfectly happy with the way they looked in his desk… and on his floor and on his walls and in his cabinets… Whatever, to Riley, the clutter made the office, err, _cozy_.

Ben and Abi, whom Riley lived with in this big old house, were off buying groceries and more home décor. Riley didn't like shopping, it got boring too quickly, and it usually hurt his feet. The only way he liked shopping was for _big_ things, such as houses or exotic cars, but he didn't have his car at the moment to go anywhere, which sucked.

Right then, Riley was trying to blow the dust off his trophy so he wouldn't have to wipe it. Not only was Riley feeling bored, but he was, as well, being lazy. He started getting light-headed when he thought of something. He had never actually explored this old house. So far, he had only been in three rooms, the kitchen, his office, and his room (which contained a bathroom, of course). Most of the time he was unpacking or in too much of a hurry to actually stop and look around.

Riley was surprised at himself, he was usually very curious. Why hadn't he explored this old house yet? Whatever, it was never too late to try, he thought. He got up and shook the wooziness from blowing out of his head and walked out of his office.

Where to go first? He thought about it for a millisecond before walking straight to Ben and Abi's room. He smiled mischievously before opening the door. The room was done in a magnificent red. The bed was a king, covered with beautiful satin sheets and pillows. It had a lacy canopy hanging from the ceiling, and fine, wooden tables on both sides of the bed. It had gorgeous dressers, stunning knick-knacks, you know what, Riley didn't really care.

What really caught his eye was the wooden door next to the bathroom. It couldn't have been the closet because that was on the other side of the room. He walked over to it and opened it swiftly. Wow, Riley knew Ben had _a lot _of books but when Abi and Ben combined their books, they had a fricking library! Riley gaped for a moment before he got bored again. He thumbed through a few of the titles and found a couple books that were actually his not _Ben's_. He also came across a few weird titles.

_The Gypsy and Her Sacred Muffin_? That book caught Riley's eye almost instantly. Why would Abi or Ben have a book like that? Riley was going to leave it be, but his curiosity got the best of him and he grabbed for the hardback. The second he slid it out of from the shelf, Riley heard something going on at the end of the corridor. Riley hurried past a couple of tall shelves before he saw the rectangular hole in the wall. A secret passage had opened!

It had been about four months since Ben, Abi, and himself had last discovered the Free Mason's treasure. Truth be told, Riley was getting a little treasure-hunting sick, if that's possible. The stubborn, uninterested bit he played wasn't entirely fake. Sometimes he found it appealing, putting together the clues and navigating on old maps, occasionally it got exciting. Right then, it was his chance to do the whole adventurous journey all over again, he hoped…

**A/N** I know, it's not exactly long, I just want to see if anyone wants me to make another chapter. Also, I'm not exactly certain if Riley's disorganized or not, I just figure he is, because his hair wasn't too tidy (although it was cute that way). _holds up a sign Will write 4 Reviews, God Bless._


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Nope, the brilliant minds at "whatever their name is" made the hit movie National Treasure. Riley rules!

**A/N:** Well, this chapter is dedicated to all those who reviewed last. Thank you and have a nice day. 

Riley Poole was giddy.

Riley stepped carefully towards the passage, straining his eyes to see further. Once he was inside the passage, the light didn't get any brighter. He walked even further into the room, but still didn't find one of those torch holders.

The longer Riley looked the more discouraged he got. He was about to walk even further down this eternal tunnel when he heard the weird rumbling of his entrance. Oh no, the passage must be closing!

Riley sprinted toward the opening, but he tripped over something that felt like wood along the way. When he hit the floor, he heard the sound of stone against stone not to far off. Crap, his only way out was gone. Subsequently, about twenty or thirty candles sprang to life on the sides of the hallway.

Riley stared at the lights in awe and irritation. He got up from the dusty floor and patted his clothes off. He started to walk around the now-lit chamber when he found a chain. Well, the chain found him… in the face.

Riley rubbed the throbbing from the chain out of his face while he stared at the chain in bewilderment. He trailed his eyes on the filthy chain to a dusty roof. Riley was ecstatic, he tugged at the chain several times when a batch of dust fell on his face. He began a two-minute long coughing fit, _note _that it was _never_ a good idea for a geek to go into an old, spooky passage first. Riley sat up hyperventilating, patting his dusty clothes off once again.

When Riley finished up all those actions, he lifted his eyes to where the chain used to be. In its place, there was a small, aged stairway. Riley stood up and pushed on the wooden steps of the stairway. They seemed steady enough. He cautiously stepped one foot on each step. When he got to the top he let out the breath of air he'd forgotten he was holding.

Riley looked around in amazement, but it was quickly taken back when he realized what he was staring at. The room was well-lit by the candles, but in the room there were a lot of things that looked something like rubbish. Crumpled up papers here and there, old cans, and rotting food in corners. Not only was Riley's finding bad, but the odor in the place did not get any better.

Riley waved at some of the cobwebs as he tried to make his way further into the room. He tripped, once again, on something hard. Riley looked back at the square shaped thing under a sheet. He jerked the dusty sheet off the item, sending a swarm of dust in the air. Coughing, he waved at the dust until he could see clearly. There was a beaten, old desk with about two or three big books on the surface of it. Riley checked the titles, he wasn't sure what any of them were exactly, but they looked noteworthy.

Riley noticed the two drawers on the side. He pulled one out but, apparently, there was no good drawer stoppers back then, so it ended up falling on his foot. Riley yelped and caught his foot. He mumbled many curses before continuing his investigation. He found many different things, a cool pen and many more papers with junk written on them. Riley placed these things in his pocket and started for the next drawer.

He gently pulled out the drawer, with his last experience in mind. Once he'd carefully put it in place, he started digging through the stuff. Most of it was more rubbish, but he finally came across the "_ancienty_" thing he'd been looking for, a fine-looking, silver watch. On the face of it was an impressive looking design.

"Oh _yes_, I've found something!" Riley cried. Hearing his voice echoing in the emptiness of the room made him blush. Riley didn't like sounding crazy, believe me, yelling out into nothingness was a ten on the Riley's crazy-ometer. And anyways, craziness was more Ben's forte. He quietly put the watch into his pocket.

Riley spent about an hour longer looking for anything more. He stopped when he heard his stomach growling, he sat down for a moment and felt through his pockets for anything edible.

When he pulled his hands out, he came up with nothing but Fireball wrappers. Mmmm, he thought blissfully, he _loved_ Fireball candies…_ Ugh_, thinking about them only made him hungrier.

Riley was starting to get uneasy, he had been in this room for several hours, and it wasn't getting any easier breathing. The odor was really starting to get to him, and the dust was irritating his eyes. How was he supposed to leave when his only way out had already closed?

A/N Once again, I have made a fiction-fact about Riley. I don't know if he likes fireballs, but he looks like he would like them, right? I dunno. Well, thank you so much for my first review from the following people:

**FwuzzFwuzz**

**NeoMoose**

**BeautifulDisaster01**

**Lee Tea**

Thank you very much for reviewing, and I hope you do it again!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** I doubt they would let a jobless 14 year old own such a spectacular film…

**A/N** This the third chapter, as you can plainly see, I hope you like it! If you do tell me about it, in other words,_ review!_

Ben Gates was tired.

Ben heaved the first big bag of silverware out of the trunk of his and his wife's Lincoln. They had just got back from their shopping trip, and now they were in the cool garage unloading the back. Well, Ben was unloading the bags. Aside him, Abi was reading a booklet on colors for painting the interior of their home.

"Ben, it says here that white is a very inviting color, oh, but we've already done our living room in yellow," Abi said, flipping through the pamphlet some more. "Oh, no, yellow's an inviting color too. Phew."

Abi rambled on about different colors as Ben tried to get their new appliance set out.

"That's fascinating, could you please excuse me, this large box is kind of heavy," he said hastily.

"Okay, okay," she said, moving to the side, finally helping with the bags.

Ben and Abi walked into their kitchen and dropped the load onto the counter. They heard some banging upstairs, but did not think much of it. Riley was always doing weird things. When it got annoying enough, they would check on him. When they finished with that load, they went right back out and got some more.

Riley thought he heard noises so he put his head against the filthy ground to confirm it. Yes, his thought was verified when he heard some banging on the counter in the kitchen. He immediately started banging on the dusty wooden floor to try to get the attention of his roommates. However, the only thing he accomplished was getting more dirt on him and in the air.

He figured that they probably thought he was doing some strange project again and were leaving him alone. True, Riley did try some weird things. Curse him and his odd behavior, because of it he was going to be trapped in there forever! Well, maybe not _forever, _but it would be a long time!

The young man sat down and started racking his brain for a plan to get Ben and Abi's attention. Maybe yelling would help.

"Ben, Abi, help me!" Riley cried at the top of his voice. "I'm trapped in a secret passage!"

Downstairs, Abi and Ben were trying to put together a table set. They heard Riley yelling but could not make out what he was saying.

"What is Riley whining about now?" Ben said exasperatedly, trying to screw on a very difficult piece.

"Something about being 'sapped in a bet sausage'?" Abi said puzzled. "I don't think I heard him correctly. Do you think I should check on him?"

"No, no, Riley's probably playing some sort of RPG game," he said, finishing up on the table. "He's fine. Come and help me bring this upstairs."

They grabbed both ends and started heaving it slowly up the stairs.

Riley was getting extremely frustrated. He tried everything, but Abi and Ben were not easily convinced. Riley had only one option left, break the roof in. It was not very logical, but Riley was so hungry and_ nothing_ should get in the way of Riley and his pizza.

Riley stomped about trying to pick a safe, hollow spot. Once he found one, he jumped incredibly high and came crashing down with a loud "thud." Riley tried about five more times until he stopped to catch his breath. This was sucking.

Ben and Abi placed the table in the center of their sitting room. Once that was finished, Abi wiped off a couple of fingerprints then admired it thoughtfully. A second later, roof powder was falling down on top of it, along with six faint "thuds." They stared gaping at the roof until it stopped.

Abi shook her head and sighed, "Riley can be so destructive."

"How could Riley be up there, if his room is next door?" Ben asked, a quizzical look playing across his face.

They stared once again at the ceiling. Something weird was going on; they could not ignore it any longer. They shook themselves from their staring and headed toward Riley's room. Once there, they started calling for him. Hearing no answer, they began to get very worried.

"Maybe it was him that was making that thudding?" Abi asked, staring at Ben fearfully.

"I don't know how he could have gotten up there though…" Ben said. "But we have to get him out."

"Let's go back to the living room and see if he can hear us," she said, already walking quickly back to the living room.

Riley was close to crying, and it wasn't because of the dust. He sat on the floor, still panting from the jumping, when he heard some dim, familiar voice beneath him.

"Riley, are you up there?" the faded, concerned voice of Abi asked through the floor.

Quickly, Riley put his ear close to ground, anxious for some help.

"Abi, is that you?" he asked apprehensively.

"Of course it is," she replied. "Riley, how the _heck_ did you get up there?"

"Ummm, it's a little hard to explain…" he replied.

"Do you _want_ to stay up there?" the faint voice of Ben asked the disbelief evident.

"_Heck_ no."

**A/N** I know it's once again a _big_ cliffy, I just like getting ideas for next chapters (and reviews). Thank you for all the reviews from the last chapter, very constructive. Please, do it again!

Sarah


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** Still the penniless teenager I was last chapter, therefore, I'm still the National Treasure-less, sad girl I was the preceding chapter also...:_sighs_:.

**A/N** Sorry, for the wait. Thank you very much for all of the reviews, ideas, critique, etc. It has all been most appreciated and still welcomed. Here is the fourth chappie! Enjoy!

Abigail Chase was irritated.

"You were _snooping_ in our room!" Riley had only gotten through the first part of his story before Abi had an outburst. Riley sighed through the ceiling he was still stuck in.

"Abi, that's beside the point," Ben said calmly. "Riley, please continue."

"Thank you," Riley replied. "So, I went into your library room and I was looking through some of those old books-"

"You touched my books!" Abi said infuriately.

"Abi," Ben warned.

"_As_ I was saying," Riley continued a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I was looking through the books and this strange book caught my eye."

He paused to cough some dust up.

"It was entitled 'The Gypsy and Her Sacred Muffin'. Who _wouldn't_ be interested?"

"Then what?" Abi urged.

"I pulled it out," Riley continued. "And this passage open a few feet off. Now, I won't tell you the rest until you come up here, it's sinister and dirty up here and I _really_ want out, now!"

"Okay, okay, we'll go check it out," Ben said.

Riley heard some noises below of Abi and Ben leaving. He yearned for the moment they came, but for now, he would just have to wait.

"So he said it was the Gypsy and Her Muffin?" Abi asked, searching quickly through the many shelves of books. "Is that one of yours?"

"No," Ben replied, doing the same as she. "Oh, hey, I think I found it!" He called across the room to his wife. Abi came running over and started examining the hard cover.

"Yes, that's the one," She pulled the book and almost instantly a rumble was heard not too far off. They walked quickly over to through the rows of books and found the rectangular gap.

"Let's hurry," Ben said urgently. "Riley must be pretty nervous."

Ben was right, Riley was _very_ nervous. The longer he stayed in this tunnel thing, the tenser he got. In fact, when he heard the growl of the passage above, he nearly had broke his leg from falling off the desk he was sitting on. He got up from the dusty ground, once again, and jogged over to the stairs he had entered from.

"Ben, Abi, is that you?" He was just making sure.

"No it's the ghost of Benjamin Franklin," the sarcastic voice of Ben met his ears. "Who else would be trying to save you from this dusty passage?"

"Er," was the only answer Riley came up with before he walked down the stairs and hugged them both. Ben and Abi awkwardly patted Riley on his dusty back while he savored the hug of his rescuers.

"Um, could you please, stop now," Abi said uncomfortably. "You're kind of filthy, and I think we better leave before the passage-"

The familiar rumble sounded again. Riley tried to run for it but ironically tripped over the same wooden thing again. The echo of stone against stone met his ears again. Darn it!

Ben walked over to the young man and helped him of the dusty ground. Riley didn't even try to pat himself again; he knew it would be no use. So he just kicked the wooden thing ten times instead.

"Are there any other exits in this room?" Abi asked an alarmed look on her face.

"If there were," Riley said frowning. "Do you really think I would have hugged you?"

"There has to be a way out," Ben said confidently. "I'll find something."

Great, his only hopes of rescue were trapped in the same dumb trap he was in. Crap.

A/N Man, another short one! I need more ideas, people. (Creative one preferred!) Well, I hope you like this chapter, if you did review please and/or tell others.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer Wishful thinking says I do but the real world says I don't…

A/N Here is the last installment to my story, I hope you like it. On with the story!

Riley Poole was famished.

"Riley, I've already given you all my mints," Ben said, still touching various parts of the walls. "So would you _please_ stop groaning."

"Did it _ever_ occur to you guys that since I was stuck in this place for hours that I might be hungry?" Riley pointed out.

They had been stuck in the ceiling for what seemed like an hour now. Ben was getting tense, Abi was getting tired, and Riley was still hungry.

"We're all gonna die," Riley said dully, drawing pictures in the dust from where he was sitting.

"Okay, shut-up," Ben said, starting to pace the room. He needed quiet when he was thinking. Abi had learned that the annoying way. Riley knew it bugged Ben when he didn't have silence, but he was still disappointed about the food thing. Hello, they were in the kitchen!

"I'm hungry," Riley said, eyes closed.

"Oh really, I didn't know that," Abi replied sarcastically, living with Ben mockery was bound to rub off on her.

Ben was stomping around the room, Riley couldn't figure out why, they were on the third floor of the house, the entire floor was hollow. He didn't bother asking though; he was used to being uncertain about things. Ben carried on with his trudging while Riley fell asleep.

"Riiiley," somebody was calling his name but the softness of bed was more inviting. He had his eyes closed but he wasn't sleeping. The young man was difficultly trying to remember the yesterday's events… Wait, he was stuck in that passage! Then why was he in bed?

Riley reluctantly opened his eyes. Over his head, Ben and Abi stood talking silently to themselves. He closed them again and listened in.

"Do you think he's alright?" the familiar, accented voice of Abi asked.

"Sure," Ben replied confidently. "Riley's been hurt worse. Like this one time when he was sleep walking. He fell down a _whole_ flight of stairs! He was in the hospital for two weeks but in the end, he was fine."

Why were they wondering if he was okay? How did he get where he was? All these questions burned through Riley's brain making him groan aloud in frustration.

"See, he's waking up already." Riley opened his eyes once more to the irritatingly bright light. He moved his head to look at the two but that sent throbbing pain through his skull.

"Ahh," Riley hissed, what the _heck_ happened to him! "What the heck happened to me!" he asked rapidly trying to stop the aching.

"Well, we'll tell you," Abi said in a concerned tone. "But you have to promise not to move through the whole story, okay?"

"Moving is the _farthest_ thing from my mind," Riley replied a bit more clearly now that the pain was subsiding.

"Okay, where to start?" Ben said, Riley heard him sit down and fidget a little. "Well, you fell asleep during the time I was stomping around…"

_flashback_

"Aww, poor Riley he fell asleep," Abi said, frowning at the dusty young man. "We should get out of here soon, Ben. It's not good for a person like Riley to stay in a filthy place this long."

"Abi, I know that," Ben said, continuing his stomping. "I just need to find a place-" He was starting to stamp near Riley when he plodded on an especially hollow part causing the ground Riley was sleeping on to fall through.

"Oh my god!" Abi cried. The couple ran to the dark hole. She turned on her key chain flashlight and searched below. The lifeless body of Riley lay on a large piece of wood along with other rubble and dust.

"Here," she handed Ben her flashlight. "Help me down there; I need to check on Riley,"

Ben lowered his wife down the shadowy hole then he jumped down it himself. Abi checked Riley's pulse and checked some of his legs and arms.

"His legs and arms seem to be okay," she said, placing his arm back on the floor. "I think he has a concussion, Ben. We need to leave here now and get Riley to a bed."

"I know, Abi, but this place doesn't have-" Ben stopped in mid-sentence once again. He spotted a handle at the far back wall. He walked over to it leaving Abi to stare at him in wonderment. He pulled the handle sideways revealing a room filled with hundreds and hundreds of books.

"Wow," Abi breathed. Ben began walking toward the large collection when he also fell through the floor.

Abi screamed and ran over to the bright hole.

"It's okay, I'm alright," Ben said. Abi looked through the hole and found her husband luckily sitting on their bed.

"I'm going to get a ladder and bring you and Riley down," Ben said, getting up from the bed. Abi smiled in sheer relief.

_end flashback_

"-Then I got the ladder and carried you in here," Ben said motioning around to Riley's room. He opened his eyes to see Ben smirking.

"What?" the young man asked.

"I think I speak for Abi when I say this," Ben said. "_Don't_ go exploring without me or Abi again, _ever._"

"Dually noted," Riley said. He smiled and closed his eyes, Riley was so glad he had friends like his. Oh, he had almost forgotten!

"Guys, can you get me a pizza or something?"

**A/N** Well, that's the end of the story. It was a little rush, rush, I know. I hoped you

liked it though, because I had enjoyed writing it. Don't ask for another chapter because then it would be about Riley playing paddleball or something and that would be boring. Reviews are still very much appreciated, thanks!

Have a nice day,

Sarah


End file.
